at Southern Indiana (3-2): 68
Urbana (0-2): 64
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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Sophomore guard Rinesha Soaper scored a game-high 21 points as the University of Southern Indiana women's basketball team fought back from a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Urbana University, 68-64, in its home-opener Wednesday evening at the Physical Activities Center.
Soaper, who scored the game's first five points while racking up a game-high four steals and a team-high tying three assists, scored 14 of her 21 points in the second period to help USI overcome a 35-27 halftime deficit.
After jumping out to an early seven-point advantage, the Screaming Eagles found themselves on the opposite end of a 10-4 run that brought the Blue Knights to within a point (20-19) with nine minutes to play in the opening period.
Urbana (0-2) tied the game at 22-22 less than 40 seconds later when sophomore guard Haley Ducey, who had a team-high 13 points, connected on a three-pointer. The shot started a 16-1 run that saw the Eagles go without a field goal for more than six minutes.
Junior guard Amie Newhart's bucket with 2:25 to play in the half broke USI's field-goal drought and pulled the Eagles to within eight at the break. Newhart scored all of her 11 points in the first half to keep the Eagles in the contest.
USI (3-2) got three buckets from junior guard Ellen Young and a basket from senior forward Anaris Sickles as it opened the second half with an 8-1 run to pull within a point with 17 minutes to play.
The Eagles, who shot 63.0 percent in the second half, got another field goal from Sickles and a bucket from senior guard/forward Abby Williams later in the half to forge a 39-38 lead, their first advantage of the second half.
Trailing by a point later in the contest, USI got a three-pointer and a layup from Soaper as it used a 5-0 spurt to forge a 58-54 cushion with 5:23 to play in the contest.
Despite a pair of four point leads, the Eagles found themselves trailing by a single point with less than three minutes to play. Williams, however hit a mid-range jumper with 1:39 to play to give the Eagles a 63-62 lead they would not surrender.
Young, who scored 14 of her 16 points in the final period, hit a three-pointer with 30 seconds to play in the game to give the Eagles an insurmountable 66-62 advantage. Young, who hit two three-pointers in the final four minutes, also dished out three assists.
USI, which forced Urbana into 31 turnovers, returns to action Sunday when it hosts Marygrove College. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. at the PAC.
